The attorneys general of 51 states and territories on Friday asked Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to stop requiring that disabled veterans fill out paperwork to become eligible for federal student loan forgiveness. Instead, they want DeVos to exercise her power to automatically cancel the debt.

Veterans who are “totally and permanently” disabled are entitled under federal law to have their student loans canceled, but the Trump administration’s current process for doing so is “inadequate,” the bipartisan group of attorneys general wrote in a letter to DeVos.

The Education Department “continues to require eligible veterans to take affirmative steps to secure the loan forgiveness that is their statutory right,” the attorneys general wrote. They added that such requirements “may prove insurmountable obstacles to relief for many eligible veterans due to the severe nature of their disabilities.”

The letter was signed by the attorneys general of 47 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands. The only attorneys general who didn’t sign represent Alabama, Arizona and Texas.

DeVos announced last year that her agency had matched its student loan records with disability records provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs to identify veterans who would be eligible for loan forgiveness….

]]>https://politicaldog101.com/2019/05/51-attorneys-general-urge-devos-erase-disabled-veterans-student-debt/feed/06684Pentagon wants to send a small number of more troops to the Middle East…https://politicaldog101.com/2019/05/pentagon-wants-to-send-a-small-number-of-more-troops-to-the-middle-east/
https://politicaldog101.com/2019/05/pentagon-wants-to-send-a-small-number-of-more-troops-to-the-middle-east/#commentsSat, 25 May 2019 02:26:01 +0000http://politicaldog101.com/?p=6683As Donald Trump continues to say he doesn’t want a war in that region….

His national security assistant, John Bolton, seems to be moving more chess pieces of the US Military into the region as a warning to Iran…

Congress is worried and has asked questions about a possible return to America involvement in a Middle East combat action…

The Defense Dept. has recently issued a order that it’s members should not talk to media without senior staff approval…..

The number of troops mentioned to be sent into that region is at 1,500, which is nothing really….

While the US Military had announced it would stop giving Middle East troop levels?

The Washington Post is reporting about 60,000 to 80,000 military personnel are in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and the Persian Gulf states….THAT number is all inclusive and MUCH higher than previous estimates ….

The U.S. military is presenting options to President Trump that would enhance the protection of American forces in the Middle East in response to rising tensions with Iran, and potentially involve sending more troops to the region, acting defense secretary Patrick Shanahan said Thursday.

Shanahan’s comments came as U.S. military leaders were expected to propose during a meeting Thursday to send thousands of additional troops to the Middle East for security reinforcement, according to U.S. officials.

“What we’re looking at is: Are there things that we can do to enhance force protection in the Middle East?” Shanahan said at the Pentagon. He said those measures “may involve sending additional troops.”

The proposal from U.S. Central Command, which oversees the Middle East, comes as the military seeks to address what officials have described as a spike in threats against U.S. forces, detected by U.S. intelligence streams, from Iran and its proxy groups. The military has already taken steps in recent weeks to boost its presence in the Middle East, the latest sign of mounting tensions between the Trump administration and Tehran.

The meeting — which Shanahan said would involve updating the president on the security situation in Iran — won’t necessarily end in a decision.

Before the meeting, Trump said he didn’t think it would be necessary to send more troops to the region. “But if we need it, we’ll be there in whatever numbers we need,” he said at the White House.

Shanahan dismissed reports that the United States was preparing to send as many as 5,000 or 10,000 more forces to the region. “There is no 10,000 and there is no 5,000,” Shanahan said….

]]>https://politicaldog101.com/2019/05/pentagon-wants-to-send-a-small-number-of-more-troops-to-the-middle-east/feed/16683Abortion Update May 24, 2019….https://politicaldog101.com/2019/05/abortion-update-may-24-2019/
https://politicaldog101.com/2019/05/abortion-update-may-24-2019/#respondSat, 25 May 2019 02:13:40 +0000http://politicaldog101.com/?p=6682There IS a LOT going on around the states….

On Friday, Missouri Governor Mike Parson, a Republican, signed a bill into law that bans abortion beginning in the eighth week of pregnancy. In Mississippi, a federal judge blocked a law that would ban abortions once an embryonic heartbeat is detected, which can occur at six weeks after conception.

“This dangerous, immoral, and unconstitutional ban threatens people’s lives and well-being and we are suing to protect our patients’ rights,” Leana Wen, president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, a women’s healthcare and abortion provider, said in a statement.

The ACLU’s Alabama chapter and Planned Parenthood of America filed their complaint in federal court in Alabama on behalf of the Southern state’s three abortion clinics and Planned Parenthood Southeast.

Anti-abortion advocates expected legal challenges to Alabama’s new law, which will be the most restrictive in the nation when it takes effect in November, and say they welcome the chance to have a court test their conviction that a fetus’ right to life is paramount.

Mississippi joined Georgia, Kentucky and Ohio earlier this year in outlawing abortion after a doctor can detect an embryonic heartbeat.

In granting the preliminary injunction on Friday, U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves wrote that the Mississippi law, which was scheduled to take effect on July 1, would prevent a woman’s free choice “which is central to personal dignity and autonomy.”

The measure was challenged in court on behalf of the Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the state’s lone abortion facility.

The ACLU and Planned Parenthood obtained an injunction from a judge in March blocking Kentucky’s abortion ban. The two organizations have filed lawsuits in Ohio and are preparing a legal fight in Georgia, they said in a statement on Friday…..

]]>https://politicaldog101.com/2019/05/abortion-update-may-24-2019/feed/06682Federal Judge blocks part of Trump wall action….https://politicaldog101.com/2019/05/federal-judge-blocks-part-of-trump-wall-action/
https://politicaldog101.com/2019/05/federal-judge-blocks-part-of-trump-wall-action/#respondSat, 25 May 2019 01:59:25 +0000http://politicaldog101.com/?p=6681The Federal judges seem to be the ONLY ones able hold up Trump’s action to get around the law….

A federal judge reportedly issued a preliminary injunction on Friday, partially blockingPresident Trump‘s plan to fund a border wall with Mexico with money from the Defense Department.

According to Politico, which first reported the ruling, California U.S. District Court Judge Haywood Gilliam issued the order, which does not fully halt construction, but would limit it to specific areas along the border. It would also block the transfer of about $1 billion in Pentagon funds from various projects to pay for the construction of a wall.

Trump made an emergency declaration earlier this year to circumvent Congress and reallocate funding from the Defense Department to begin work on the wall….

]]>https://politicaldog101.com/2019/05/federal-judge-blocks-part-of-trump-wall-action/feed/06681Donald Trump tries to label those who didn’t support him as committing ‘treason’….https://politicaldog101.com/2019/05/donald-trump-tries-to-label-those-who-didnt-support-him-as-committing-treason/
https://politicaldog101.com/2019/05/donald-trump-tries-to-label-those-who-didnt-support-him-as-committing-treason/#respondFri, 24 May 2019 17:55:24 +0000http://politicaldog101.com/?p=6678

He has so into this that he’s authorized his Attorney General Barr to go after the FBI investigation of his campaign’s Russian connections and himself…

Trump has also called the investigation a ‘coup’…

Some of us see this view and push by Trump as a way to stifle ANYBODY actually investigating his actions…

With Barr?

He has a trusted lapdog who is trying defang the FBI….

Trump has told the House he wanted them top stop investigating him already….

None of the probes are going away…

I’m sure there are STILL FBI agents and even those in the National Security community that will continue to keep an eye on a guy who seemed to trying to help the ‘enemy ‘ when he got the job and has between named by an un-indicted party in crimes that sent his former lawyer to jail….

Once again on Thursday, President Donald Trump used the T-word, this time saying that former FBI officials who were involved in investigating his campaign committed treason.

Asked at a White House event which of his adversaries he had in mind when he accused them of treason, he said, “A number of people. They have unsuccessfully tried to take down the wrong person.” He then specified former FBI director James Comey, former acting FBI director Andrew McCabe, former FBI lawyer Lisa Page, and former FBI agent Peter Strzok.

“That’s treason. They couldn’t win the election, and that’s what happened.”

But that isn’t what the Constitution says treason is. It doesn’t mean being disloyal to the president. And it certainly would not apply to any actions against a private citizen, which Donald Trump was as a candidate for president.

Here’s what the Constitution says (Article III, Section 3): “Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort.”

“Enemy” means a country or an entity that has declared war or is in a state of open war against the US. “Aid and comfort” must be something material, not words of encouragement….

]]>https://politicaldog101.com/2019/05/donald-trump-tries-to-label-those-who-didnt-support-him-as-committing-treason/feed/06678Kawhi Leonard or Kevin Durant?….Who do you try to get for your NBA Team?https://politicaldog101.com/2019/05/kawhi-leonard-or-kevin-durant-who-do-you-try-to-get-for-your-nba-team/
https://politicaldog101.com/2019/05/kawhi-leonard-or-kevin-durant-who-do-you-try-to-get-for-your-nba-team/#respondFri, 24 May 2019 15:15:34 +0000http://politicaldog101.com/?p=6677

Kawhi Leonard, left, battling Kevin Durant this season.

Kawhi Leonard is playing right now and helping a winning playoff effort….

Kevin Durant has pulled up hurt and his team is winning without him…

Given an improbable choice, which golden hoop phenom would you prefer: Kevin Durant or Kawhi Leonard?

Like an eclipse of the moon, the N.B.A. playoffs this season offer an unusual crossing of shadows. Two of the league’s five best players will become free agents on July 1, and no one other than an agent or favorite uncle has a clue where they might wash ashore.

Most attention has focused on Durant, that preternaturally talented seven-foot forward possessed of a feathery touch and a hawk’s eye for a cutting teammate. He has won consecutive championships with the Golden State Warriors, and the chatter is that he might decamp to the New York Knicks and try to reanimate a long ago flatlined team.

The encoded assumption is that Durant is the pick of a fine free agent litter.

Now Kawhi Leonard has shouldered his way into that conversation. He already had tossed up an improbable falling out of bounds game-winning shot, snared one-handed rebounds and wrapped Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Milwaukee Bucks’ transcendent star, in an iron-claw defensive embrace. Then on Thursday night, limping and no longer airborne, he unpacked his every move, scoring 35 points on an assortment of floaters and jumpers and put backs. He also dished nine assists and pulled down seven rebounds to give the Toronto Raptors a three-games-to-two lead in its Eastern Conference finals series….

Trump/Pelosi: President Donald Trump (R-Himself) and Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D) continued their insult war for another day which involved such highlights as Pelosi asking Trump’s family to stage an intervention and Trump proclaiming himself to be an extremely stable genius. This is the government the people wanted and deserve. Two seventy somethings discussing whether they are losing it or not.

Manafort: The former CEO of the Federal Savings Bank of Chicago, Stephen Calk, is facing Federal charges related to his scheme to give former Trump campaign chairman, Paul Manafort (R-United Russia), loans in exchange for receiving a White House position.

Amash/MI-3: The Libertarian Party is courting Representative Justin Amash (R-Present) to run for their nomination after his pronouncement last weekend that he supports impeaching President Trump. MI-3 is not a huge Trump hotbed, but Amash might need a backup plan after essentially committing ritualistic suicide.

Republican Millennials: A majority of millennials who identify as Republicans would like to see a primary challenge of President Trump according to a recent University of Chicago survey. 61% of Republican millennials would like to see a strong challenger to President Trump.

Weld/VT-Gov: Vermont Gov. Phil Scott (R) has tentatively endorsed ex-MA Gov. Bill Weld’s (R->L->R) no-hope primary campaign against Trump, though Scott did suggest he was open to switching his support to Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) if he ran against Trump.

Trump isn’t about the government idea of competitive bidding one would assume?

President Trump has personally and repeatedly urged the head of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to award a border wall contract to a North Dakota construction firm whose top executive is a GOP donor and frequent guest on Fox News, according to four administration officials.

In phone calls, White House meetings and conversations aboard Air Force One during the past several months, Trump has aggressively pushed Dickinson, N.D.-based Fisher Industries to Department of Homeland Security leaders and Lt. Gen. Todd Semonite, the commanding general of the Army Corps, according to the administration officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive internal discussions. The push for a specific company has alarmed military commanders and DHS officials.

Semonite was summoned to the White House again Thursday, after the president’s aides told Pentagon officials — including Gen. Mark Milley, the Army’s chief of staff — that the president wanted to discuss the border barrier. According to an administration official with knowledge of the Oval Office meeting, Trump immediately brought up Fisher, a company that sued the U.S. government last month after the Army Corps did not accept its bid to install barriers along the southern border, a contract potentially worth billions of dollars….

…

Army Corps of Engineers officials evaluated Fisher’s proposal and said that it didn’t meet the requirements of the project — and that the proposal was cheaper because it wasn’t as high-quality, or as sophisticated, in their view.

Finally, officials, including then-DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, went into the Oval Office this spring and explained that Fisher could bid but that the company’s proposal needed to change.

Nielsen and Semonite separately explained that the president could not just pick a company. Nielsen did not respond to a request for comment.

Trump remained frustrated, saying that Fisher said it could build the barrier cheaper and faster. “He said these other guys were full of s—,” an official said.

Fisher was added to a pool of competitors after the Army Corps came under pressure from the White House, administration officials said.

On Tuesday, after Semonite was called to a meeting with Cramer on Capitol Hill, the senator posted a photograph of the encounter to Twitter, saying he had “discussed border wall construction” with Army Corps leaders.

Cramer said he was glad the president is so involved in the process. Trump was elected to cut through Washington’s entrenched bureaucracy, he said.

“Good for him. It’s why he is the president of the United States. He knows a thing or two about building big projects,” Cramer said. “This is why he’s president.”

Cramer said that he has long known the Fisher family and that he is not advocating for the company because its ownership has donated money to his campaigns.